Category Archives: Feature Film

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Cohen Media Group reissued a brand-new 4K version of Merchant Ivory’s classic, Howards End for theaters this past year. Cohen released a new (non-4K) DVD version of the film which the library carries. From Hal Erickson’s All Movie Guide,

One of the best Ismail Merchant/James Ivory films, this adaptation of E. M. Forster’s classic 1910 novel shows in careful detail the injuriously rigid British class consciousness of the early 20th century. The film’s catalyst is poor relation Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson), who inherits part of the estate of Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave), an upper-class woman whom she had befriended. The film’s principal characters are divided by caste: aristocratic industrial Henry Wilcox (Anthony Hopkins); middle-echelon Margaret and her sister Helen (Helena Bonham Carter); and working-class clerk Leonard Bast (Sam West) and his wife (Nicola Duffett). The personal and social conflicts among these characters ultimately result in tragedy for Bast and disgrace for Wilcox, but the film’s wider theme remains the need, in the words of the novel’s famous epigram, to only connect with other people, despite boundaries of gender, class, or petty grievance. Filmed on a proudly modest budget, Howards End offers sets, spectacles, and costumes as lavish as in any historical epic. Nominated for 9 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, the film took home awards for Thompson as Best Actress, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s adapted screenplay, and Luciana Arrighi’s art direction.

It’s not often the stars align to take two icons of entertainment in two days. Taking Carrie Fisher one day and her mother, Debbie Reynolds the next is astonishing. Our hearts break and thoughts go out to the Fisher family. We could easily tell you to sit down and watch the original Star Warsor Singin’ in the Rain, but that might be too obvious. Better yet, consider watching one of Carrie and Debbie’s hidden gems to honor their passing:

Hannah and Her Sisters – Carrie Fisher has a supporting role in this Woody Allen ensemble cast about a family of sisters in NYC during the 1980’s.

Disney Pixar’s Finding Dorynot only follows up the huge hit, Finding Nemo. It literally blows its competition out of the water. With over 1 billion dollars grossed domestically, watch it for the first time or watch it again and again. It’s adorable, it’s Disney, it’s a modern classic.

Acclaimed Italian auteur Nanni Moretti finds comedy and pathos in the story of Margherita, a harried film director (Margherita Buy, A Five Star Life) trying to juggle the demands of her latest movie and a personal life in crisis. The star of her film, a charming but hammy American actor (John Turturro) imported for the production, initially presents nothing but headaches and her crew is close to mutiny. Away from the shoot, Margherita tries to hold her life together as her beloved mother’s illness progresses, and her teenage daughter grows ever more distant.

Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise encounter an alien warrior race when marooned on a distant planet after the destruction of their spaceship in this thrilling sequel directed by Fast & Furious director Justin Lin.

Want some classic fright in your life this Halloween? Why not check out 1968’s Rosemary’s Baby starring Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes. Who doesn’t love newlyweds on the Upper West Side with satanists as their neighbors? Boo!

The Ghostbusters franchise got refueled and reimagined with an all-female cast this year. From Sony Pictures,

Ghostbusters makes its long-awaited return, rebooted with a cast of hilarious new characters. Thirty years after the beloved original franchise took the world by storm, director Paul Feig brings his fresh take to the supernatural comedy, joined by some of the funniest actors working today–Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth. This summer, they’re here to save the world!

Beautiful young widow Lady Susan Vernon visits the estate of her in-laws to wait out the colourful rumours about her dalliances circulating through polite society. Whilst ensconced there, she decides to secure a husband for herself and a future for her eligible but reluctant daughter, Frederica. In doing so she attracts the simultaneous attentions of the young, handsome Reginald DeCourcy, the rich and silly Sir James Martin and the divinely handsome, but married, Lord Manwaring, complicating matters severely.